Leaving a legacy of FAITH

It’s important to me and to God that I leave a legacy of faith.  When I am gone will there be someone left behind with the inheritance of my faith?  Will there be someone passing faith on because of me?   Faith is hugely important to me in my life and without it I don’t know how I would have survived what I have been through. 

I believe the when we do what God wants us to do, love God and love others, we will be blessed greatly in our lives even in the most difficult circumstances. 

Hebrews 11:6  And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.

God wants us above all to seek him in everything we do, every situation we encounter, every circumstance we find ourselves in.  God doesn’t want ritual and rules, He wants a relationship with us.  God doesn’t care if you go to church, He cares if the church is in you.  Only by faith, we can have this type of relationship with God. 

What does it mean to live by faith or to have faith?  How does that work?  There is no single definition of faith but the first chapter of Hebrews gives some clarification on faith. 

Hebrews 11:1  Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.

Faith is believing in something that we cannot see.  Believing in something before we see it.  Just like the air we breath…we know it’s there but we cannot see it.  I feel God’s presence but I do not see it.  I know that He provides me comfort but I do not see Him holding me.  I feel and know that He comforted and held my son in his final moments but I did not see that.  I trust in God’s word.  I trust in God because I have experienced and seen how He has provided many blessings to me in my life. 

Faith is obeying God even when what He is asking us to do doesn’t make sense or we don’t understand it.  I don’t understand why I had to lose my son to suicide however from the very moment I realized Tommy was gone I felt and knew in my heart that God was going to use this for His glory.  I remember sitting there that day asking God why, why my son, why me?  God called me to be strong enough to speak out about this tragedy, to bring light into the dark, and allow Him to utilize me for a greater purpose then I could imagine.  I told God that day that I would allow Him to use me, to show me the way.  Obedience always involves risk.  I was risking my privacy and my family’s privacy.  I was risking being rejected by people who didn’t want to hear about suicide because if it could happen to me then it could surely happen to them.  I risked jumping out of my comfort zone into a fear zone.  I have never considered myself a speaker, especially to crowds of people I don’t know.  I told God, if you bring me opportunities, I will not say no, ever.  And to date that has been the case. 

Faith is persisting even when you feel like giving up.  There are many times throughout the last year that I didn’t want to speak, that I didn’t feel like going to a meeting, or meeting a new suicide survivor and sharing my story.  To be honest, there are days I don’t feel like doing anything.  We are part of a culture that is ruled by emotions and that is a big problem.  I know that persistence even when it’s not what I want to do is faith. 

I hope that my journey, my ministry Each Breath of Faith, is a legacy that will live on through others for many years to come and brings God glory.  I am nothing but with Faith and God, anything is possible.